Posted on 08/14/2007 4:27:34 AM PDT by Dudoight
The show was an instant success. It lured would-be child-sex predators to a public shaming, delivered by a handsome host. Ratings, awards and even praise from members of Congress followed. But now Dateline NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series is taking heat. And so is the police chief of the Collin County town that hosted it eight months ago. The troubles stem from the show's visit to Murphy, where more than 20 people were arrested but escaped prosecution because of evidence problems. Also a former district attorney ensnared in the sting shot himself.
(Excerpt) Read more at dallasnews.com ...
Given the daily activity of all too many prosecutors, to calim that one killed himself over just that “sting” may or may not be accurate.
But - it is , alas, all too likely that the ‘dear departed’ had already abused his power sufficiently to have well justified his decision.
Our legal system is in need of a major overhaul.
They weren’t trying to do a “good thing” — they were trying to boost ratings.
I’m not sticking up for the pervs, but law enforcement should do their job without all the fanfare BS.
ROFL!
Now that you mention it, it just might be a good deal all the way around.
Must-see TV, perp wasted, and smarmy TV droid eliminated.
Don't think the series would last long after that, though.
I have watched some of these shows. It is amazing. Many of these people lead normal upstanding lives, and some are people that you might be suspicious of. The question that does not get asked is what is driving people who have what appears to be stable lives to take such risks. My answer would be pornography has many many hidden social costs. Pornography allows anyone to become a pervert in the privacy of their own home. Once pornography and perversion was centered in the seedy section of town, now pornography is mainstream, and it can easily be had on your television or computer. And for those who become addicted they need to act out and sadly children often become the targets of their acting out.
Orwellian rationalization, right out of the "1984" mindset.
The guy WHO BLEW HIS BRAINS OUT was naughty talking on the internet and that was it. He didnt go to some girl's house, he didnt harrass her. This was entrapment, period...and abuse of police power. Thsy busted into his house! For what.....hate thought?
Can anyone imagine them doing this to a female or African American? I can't. They overreached in their typical misandrist way and they ought to be punished. Plus , the police were stupid pawns; stupid rural hicks and greedy morons.
Do you think that the people showing up to supposedly molest a minor are responsible for ruining their own lives?
I can't stand to watch these shows and have never seen more than a few seconds of one. I think it has something to do with not wanting to hear lame excuses. Exactly how young are the "children" these men think they are coming to have sex with?
Those men drive 100’s of miles sometimes. Never underestimate the power of perversion to cloud men’s minds.
I don’t agree. They took some perverts off of the street.
You posted: Let’s say you receive your bank statement and see a deposit for $100 that you didn’t make. If you choose to spend it, you know it’s theft (no matter how you try to justify it).Turns out that the bank made an error in your account months ago and they were simply correcting it. Spending it, therefore, is not a crime.
***
Your analogy fails in that it isn’t inherently wrong, or illegal, to spend $100. It IS inherently wrong to have sex with a 14 year old girl. There can be no mistake there. Entrapment is different than this sort of sting operation. Entrapment causes someone who would not otherwise be likely to commit a crime to do so. These men weren’t called up on the phone and solicited by teenage girls. The men were looking for this sort of thing and that is what they found. To my mind, anything, including this NBC show, that gives these perverts reason to think twice is ok by me.
NBC doesn't drive to their houses and make them send pictures of their penises to people they think are 13 year-old girls. Those men do it willingly. I don't know how you can "entrap" someone into sending you a picture of their penis.
exactly.
The problem I have with the show is that it is a theatrical form of vigilante justice. Good intention, improper execution. The evidence problems that have now are a result of amateurs playing detective. That said, I think the show did serve to show that these predators can be caught and perhaps will get the professionals off their duffs. The FBI is running a program now that is working.
Along the way, if one or two of these creeps was shamed into serving justice upon themselves by committing suicide, good riddance.
I don't believe that's what actually happened.
The shows emanate from selected states---states that HAVE LAWS ALREADY ON THE BOOKS regarding child sex and transmitting explicit images and sex talk.
The perverts initiate the sex talk---that's when the decoy (acting like a younsgter) takes over the chat.
Some of these disgusting men transmit pictures of their genitals and videos of themselves masturbating to kids they think are as young as 12.
Some of the perverts are calculating and make dates to meet the decoys in other locales.
Appears that's what happened in the suicide case. The guy probably tried to lure the decoy to his home---and freaked when NBC showed up.
The To Catch a Predator shows are not about NBC entrapping perverts---it's about perverts entrapping children into sex.
It’s all fun and games until you snag a lawyer or a high-ranking Democrat.
Duh, Ms. Obvious.
Even worse. Here we have government cooperating with private enterprise for power and money.
Like the DA who blew his own brains out? Who never broke the law in his life?? I'd like to see the transcript of what he said that gave them the right to bust through his front door with dogs and guns. This is Bull&hit and Dateline would never pull this crap with a PC victim, you can bet on it. Despicable.
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